Chapter 18: Breaking Through

Many agree that defense in battle is like blacksmithing—clanging and banging, always revolving around swords or shields.Neo is clearly a good blacksmith, not only for his skill but also for his passion.

It seems that whenever passion is poured into something, even if it’s tragic or ends in failure, it remains compelling—there’s a word for it, right? Tragic grandeur!

Neo was now in a state of tragic grandeur. The life-and-death struggle between the turtle and the wolf: one had a shell, though not necessarily one that could fully protect it; the other had claws, with little fear of being bitten back. At least that’s what it seemed, and that’s what Green and the others thought as well.

“I really want to say ‘This choice is foolish’ with utter disdain, but I can’t. It’s bravery—bravery I’ve never seen in anyone before. I agree with Nyi—Simon Windwalker is truly manly,” said Eran, looking at that towering figure amidst the swirling dust, magical light, and flying sparks, and speaking earnestly.

“Fierce and relentless, moving forward without hesitation. At least this spirit deserves recognition. This is no longer a matter of fearing difficulties, but rather a display of courage in facing challenges. I believe that even if Simon doesn’t win this battle, his strength will still improve. This deserves our deep reflection—in an era of war, there clearly exists another path to cultivation.” Babo, who was most passionate about cultivation, had been thinking these days about ways to make up for the loss of being able to focus on cultivation. And this battle betweenNeo and the Vengeful Ghost gave him a vague direction: fight with all one’s might, risk life and death—no retreat!

Indeed,Neo’s focus lay in the phrase “rowing against the current.” The only period of relative peace in his life had been in Tures, but even that was relative. SometimesNeo wondered if he would never be able to live a quiet, leisurely life. There was always a desire in his heart—to challenge limits, surpass oneself, not just for the remarkable achievements others saw, but because it was a joy in itself, a pursuit.

As an old gladiator once told him, “Die in your own den like an old dog? Or die on the battlefield with your last ounce of strength? For us, the answer isn’t hard. If everything has a beginning and an end, then let it end with the blade.”

Burning!Neo felt himself burning, from within to without, from his will to his body. “Great! Excellent! I love this feeling!” With another battle cry, brilliant flames erupted fromNeo’s body, their color growing increasingly close to pure gold.

“I’ll crush you!”Neo’s unyielding tenacity also ignited the madness in the Vengeful Ghost’s nature, ensuring that this would be a battle where even life and death became mere backdrop—fierce fighting, ignoring all consequences.

The Vengeful Ghost wasn’t particularly tall, about 3 meters, only slightly taller than the werewolf-form ofNeo. It was its brutal tactics and nearly invincible defenses that gave it its ferocity, making the constantly pressuredNeo appear small and weak.

In fact, with every thunderous roar and every clash of lights, every spark that flew, it proved that Neo was always fighting back in a positive manner. From a willpower standpoint, Neo was even superior. Moreover, the Vengeful Demon could sense Neo’s rapid growth; it even began to doubt whether Neo’s body was made of pure energy crystals—otherwise, how could he endure so long and grow stronger with each battle? After all, the Vengeful Demon relied on constantly plundering the ambient energy to launch powerful attacks, and due to its excessive and rapid consumption, the area around it had already suffered severe energy disruptions. Its opponent, on the other hand, simply expended his own energy, being drained again and again before regaining it—the only logical explanation the Vengeful Demon could think of for this was the burning of life force.

“Hmph! Truly heroic! But you will die before dawn!” The Vengeful Demon roared, its body arched upward. In the darkness, countless black lights gathered into arcs, flying toward it like swallows returning to their nests. Instantly, arcs of electricity and black, lifeless ash appeared on its surface. Using dark energy in such large quantities meant the Vengeful Demon couldn’t avoid paying a price—negative energy’s impact on life wasn’t just pain. But what did such things matter in a battle like this? The Vengeful Demon could also sense that if it succeeded in killing this enemy, its own level would rise, and it might even gain unimaginable benefits. It had heard from its elders that such beings had profound connections to their worlds—essentially, they were manifestations of certain laws. Killing them and seizing their power brought many advantages!

“Kill!” The Vengeful Demon transformed into a meteor wrapped in black flames and lightning, rushing down from the sky.

Boom! After the explosion of dark energy, a massive cloud of smoke rose, leaving behind a black crater over 20 meters in diameter on the ground.

Hiss! Every muscle in the Vengeful Demon’s body trembled violently, its veins and arteries bulging on its surface. Black sweat and purple blood flowed together across its body. Although the energy of the realm could protect it, it couldn’t stop it from injuring itself. Besides, this newly acquired body was indeed unreliable at times.

But none of this was what the Vengeful Demon was focused on. Its blood-red single eye shone with unprecedented excitement as it stared fixedly at the center of the crater. It knew exactly what had happened during the collision earlier—it believed its opponent was finished!

Amidst swirling black smoke and flying sparks, a figure slowly, or rather painfully, stood up. What concerned the Vengeful Demon wasn’t the tattered armor that kept cracking and falling off, nor the completely shattered shield or broken sword. Even the numerous gruesome wounds couldn’t draw its attention, because it saw two lights—blue-purple, like lightning in deep space. Those were the eyes of its opponent. The Vengeful Demon detected no trace of life emotions there, only purity, seemingly representing the laws of the universe.

“If I die in battle, I will return to your embrace sooner. If I survive, I will understand the path you follow and uphold the laws you uphold, with unwavering determination!” Reciting these words of faith once again proved extremely difficult; his body was severely damaged—not only his outer flesh and armor but also his core. The repeated exertion of power had exhausted all the energy he had accumulated over time. Now, he had no way to retreat, but Neo regretted nothing and still believed he could hold on to the end.

A white light erupted upward from Neo first, a blessing from the sighs of the abyss—relatively weak in comparison. Followed by silver light, pure and cold, carrying a sense of chill in its stillness—the flame of lunar power. Then came blood-red light, reaching heights of a thousand meters as Neo burned through whatever pure essence blood remained. Finally, a new green light, though delicate, pierced the sky, reaching heights far beyond ten thousand meters.

“A final battle!” Amid the roaring energy, Neo shouted his loudest voice.

“Finally, we’ve reached this point!” The Vengeful Demon revealed its gleaming fangs, stretched its claws behind its shoulders, and tore off a pair of wings before crushing them and swallowing them whole with its enlarged maw. Black lightning bolts then erupted from its body and shot into the sky.

The eastern sky began to lighten, and the dim light of dawn shrouded the battlefield. Two beings enveloped in powerful energy charged at each other, colliding and entangling, creating a series of thunderous sounds and continuous explosions on the ground. Those outside could no longer see clearly what was happening inside the fight; only the energy swirling together formed the brightest column of light at dawn, emitting endless brilliance.

Finally, as the first rays of light appeared on the eastern horizon, an explosion more powerful than any before shook the world. After a massive cloud of dark energy rose, the shockwave swept across the entire battlefield, blowing Green and the others, who were watching from over a hundred meters away, flying into the air.

“Amazing! Damn it!” After such a fierce battle, the Vengeful Demon became clearer-headed. Licking its bleeding lips, it said, “So you’ve been draining my protective energy all along.”

Over ten meters away, Neo, whose claws still emitted transparent energy waves, said nothing, merely staring at the Vengeful Demon with extreme calmness.

“I remember you! I’ll come back! Next time, it will be your death!” Realizing that its dimensional energy shield had been depleted much faster than it thought and that it could still defeat Neo even at full strength, the Vengeful Demon understood it had lost all advantages. It was time to leave, or once the sun rose and darkness vanished completely, it might not be able to escape.

Neo said, “It’s too late. This world has chosen to keep you—forever.”

The ground trembled violently, growing louder as it approached. The Vengeful Demon felt a tremendous force pouring into Neo’s body. Almost simultaneously, the rays of light in the east became unbearably bright, shining directly onto Neo’s body and forming a brilliant sword of light in his hands.

“The power of nature, the Sword of Dawn!” Fear finally appeared on the face of the Vengeful Demon. It knew that Neo wasn’t boasting—this world truly intended to keep it here. Or rather, in this battle, its opponent reaped far greater rewards far more quickly. It had already been recognized by the world and become a guardian of the world, or rather, of nature.
This was an additional title, meaning that as long as it was in this world, Neo could directly draw upon the immense powers of heaven and earth for its own use. The era of obtaining power through “life absorption” by theft was over. From then on, Neo became a machine for absorbing energy—no need to kill or steal to get what it wanted. A huge constraint had thus been lifted.
The Vengeful Demon ultimately failed to escape. The Sword of Dawn, also known as the Light of Dawn, shattered all darkness. Rather than being a formidable weapon, it was more of a one-time spell with strict usage conditions—transforming the first rays of dawn into a supreme weapon to destroy darkness. Its counterpart was the Scythe of Dusk, which extinguished the last traces of light. Both were skills created by nature’s guardians by harnessing the power of heaven and earth.
Neo’s swordsmanship perfectly matched the characteristics of these two skills—cutting through and eliminating. Combined, their power was far beyond simple 1+1=2. A magnificent aurora-like blade of light suddenly appeared, slaughtering the Vengeful Demon on the spot. Its corpse burned with blue-white flames before turning into scattered ashes. Purified, freed, and merged with nature, it became fertilizer.
“As expected, battles like this yield the greatest rewards. I invested 17 types of demonic imprints and refined them all. One battle is equivalent to three years of hard training!” Nancy brought good news. As for the various powers accumulated over past bloody battles that were exhausted in just one night, neither Neo nor she cared anymore. Now that they could communicate with heaven and earth and draw endless energy from the outside world, there was no need to be stingy or cautious. The rewards were well worth the effort.
“I didn’t use dark power,” Neo said, proud of that.
During the fierce battle, he had several times almost been tempted to activate dark power. That urge wasn’t just from being cornered and trying to grasp any lifeline, but also from a deep-seated call and temptation. Yet in the end, Neo held back.
He mastered rather than relied on it—Neo succeeded this time. It was a victory of will, a transcendence of self. From now on, his control over elemental powers would be even stronger, giving him greater confidence in fighting against the encroachment of darkness.
Green and the others, blown away by the shockwave from the battle’s end, were unharmed. The Feather Fall spell, like the Immortal Flame, was a basic spell that allowed mages to appear graceful in strong winds or when falling from heights. Some mages even loved using it to descend from mountains.
Unfortunately, Green and the others couldn’t see clearly how the Vengeful Demon was killed. They only saw a magnificent light screen suddenly appearing in the void, stunningly beautiful. By the time they saw Neo again, the Vengeful Demon had already turned to ashes.

Meeting Neo, Green smiled and said, “Need some praise to lift your spirits? Your current condition seems quite worrying.”
Neo also grinned and replied, “Never mind. It’s no trouble for you. Mages are meant for academic reports, not praising people.”
“That’s because of the pride that comes from possessing powers beyond ordinary humans. But that doesn’t stop us from honoring true heroes. You undoubtedly deserve that title—brave and admirable.”
“Thank you,” Neo said, limping over and speaking sincerely. “I must apologize for my selfishness. My decisions in this mission were self-centered. I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you all again today.”
“You’re welcome. It’s an honor to help,” Nyi replied on behalf of the group.
At that moment, the leader of the spellcasters also stepped forward. “On behalf of the spellcasters on this mission, I pay tribute to the warrior. The Eye of Magic faithfully recorded the second half of this fierce battle—killing a senior dark magician and slaying the Vengeful Demon. Such bravery deserves to be celebrated and honored accordingly.”
Neo thanked the leader of the spellcasters as well, then briefly explained to the soldiers the temporary transfer of command before resting and recovering with Green’s help.
Given Neo’s injuries, even with Green’s assistance, it would have taken at least half a month for him to be able to fight again; whether he could even get out of bed within a week was uncertain. But during the treatment, Green noticed that Neo’s body cells had extraordinary vitality, and the healing magic had a significantly greater effect on him. Green attributed this to some natural blessing—enhanced resistance and improved effectiveness of elemental treatments. After observing for some time, Green shared good news with Neo and the entire team: at this rate of recovery, by tonight, Neo might not be fully restored, but he would certainly be out of serious danger.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and felt greatly inspired, especially the members of Star 745. Their admiration for their leader soared—after all, the Vengeful Demon, a legendary powerful demon, had been slain by their leader alone. What an incredible combat ability!
“We need to step up too. We may not be able to match our leader, but at least we shouldn’t be a burden.”
“Yeah. Hopefully, if there’s another battle like this, we’ll all be able to contribute!”…
Unaware of it, these once self-doubting soldiers had shed their inferiority complex, gained confidence, and united in their resolve. These were the foundations of victory. A strong army isn’t just about experience in battle—it’s also about consistent success. As for the trials of failure, those are meant for heroes. Ordinary people can’t withstand harsh setbacks. A small defeat might be tolerable, but a major one will surely leave them broken, at least psychologically.
Neo carefully nurtured the seeds of faith in Star 745. Though they had some experience now, those seeds had finally taken root and were beginning to grow strong. Neo knew that for some time to come, he would still need to protect them so they could withstand challenges.

“Comparatively, you’re lucky…” Nio, lying in the shaking vehicle, thought of his subordinates in the Howling Caverns. He had been away from them for some time now. Although they had followed him through the toughest times, they were still in a stage of growth. If he stayed away too long, their bonds would inevitably weaken, and some might even develop other motives—after all, not everyone was honest and straightforward.

As he pondered how to integrate his Gale Squad into the system, Nio gradually fell asleep. The battle with the Vengeful Demon had drained much of his physical strength and energy. Moreover, his flesh armor, which possessed extraordinary vitality and had grown with Nancy’s help, meant that his true body didn’t have such remarkable energy levels.

After shrinking, his true body could hardly suffer serious injuries, but even if it did, recovering would be no easy task. After all, its cellular structure was no longer ordinary—each injury required ten times or even more effort to repair than for a normal person.

Green’s water-based healing magic was indeed powerful, and its effects on his true body were noticeable. Nio also used all his recovery methods, with Nancy helping to take control of his body and carry out thorough adjustments. Even so, a period of weakness lasting over ten hours was unavoidable.

Green was right—by evening, he would indeed recover significantly. But returning to his full strength and energy levels from before the battle with the Vengeful Demon was simply impossible.

Relying on nature’s forces and the power of the universe was effective, but not omnipotent. Overall, the six elements were certainly no problem—Emera’s world had an abundance of them. This was greatly beneficial for his AI core, as it streamlined energy replenishment compared to before. Nancy had roughly calculated that, even at the beginning stages, it was at least five times more efficient. The AI core could now grow at a slightly faster pace. Just this benefit alone was enough to make Nio happy enough to sleep soundly.

Interestingly, many problems often have interconnected aspects—solving one issue often leads to the resolution of others. This was exactly what Nio was facing now. By drawing power from nature, his imbalance among the four elements was resolved. He had previously worried that one element would be too strong while another was too weak, affecting the harmony of his consciousness world. Now, he could balance them at will by replenishing energy, allowing him to further enhance his elemental powers.

Additionally, due to Nio’s inherent attributes, his affinity for the light element was negative. Even when using “life absorption,” the power of light was instinctively repelled. Yet light energy was actually very useful—like an essential seasoning in food, it wasn’t needed in large amounts but was indispensable. It greatly influenced the development of life energy and moon energy. Previously, he had no way to obtain this energy, but now that he could, his consciousness world would become more perfect, and his moon energy would enter a rapid growth phase.

Additionally, the availability of both light energy and lunar energy means that Neo now has the possibility to draw star energy using light as a guide and the moon as a filtering layer. Although this technique is much simpler and less mature compared to the Dark Moon Star Absorption Method used by vampires since the era of their ancestors, the Nisar hybrids, it at least avoids relying on dark forces. For Neo, who has become severely corrupted by using dark magic multiple times, dark forces are the last thing he needs to improve at at this stage. Once he masters life energy cultivation, it will be like putting reins on a wild horse—then he can control it as he pleases.

The acquisition of star energy is also related to two important aspects: one is the power of the void realms. This field is something that almost every powerful being must deal with, as when cultivation stalls, it’s often necessary to step outside. Meanwhile, as strength increases, the enemies or allies encountered also rise in level. If one knows nothing about this, situations like encountering vengeful demons can occur, leaving one helpless against a mere plane energy shield and nearly dying.

Moreover, star energy is intricately linked to blood energy. Neo finds it somewhat puzzling that these two are related, but Nancy explained that blood energy, at its core, is a transformed form of light energy. Thus, blood energy is closely related to life energy, connected to star energy, and not far removed from lunar energy. The intricacies behind this cannot be understood just by attending a few extra classes, so Neo decided to focus on application for now rather than understanding the principles, planning to delve into the mysteries when he reaches a higher level. Nancy agreed with Neo’s choice. Although Neo is far smarter than ordinary people, he still struggles with the various fields he must master, and this cannot be achieved overnight—progress must come slowly.

Neo isn’t too worried about this. He’s aware of his own limitations—he’s not exceptionally talented or brilliant. Due to his race, his intelligence is far below that of humans, let alone elves, and so is his comprehension ability. The reason he has achieved something is because fragments of the Chaos Holy Stone have influenced his mind, accidentally helping him build a solid foundation, which led to his subsequent adventures.

Since he’s of an ordinary race with a low starting point, his process of acceleration will naturally be much longer. He can’t compare to those born with great talent and favorable conditions who shine brilliantly from the start—geniuses, supergeniuses! But in the later stages, the gap will gradually narrow. After all, even geniuses can’t keep accelerating indefinitely; they always face bottlenecks and stalls. Those who had an easy start often lack experience dealing with difficulties. Everyone needs to be tempered, and the challenges accumulated later can make it even harder to move forward for a long time. So, it’s hard to say who will laugh last. With Nancy’s exceptional support, there’s really no need for him to underestimate himself.